An opening which can be opened up by a sliding roof, or possibly also an opening which is closed off by a glass roof, in a vehicle roof is usually provided with a sunshade element which, in order to provide protection from solar radiation, can be moved by the vehicle occupants such that it fully or partially covers the opening or the glass roof on the inside. Such protection from the sun is also important because incident solar radiation can blind the driver. Here, even a small gap between a front end of the sunshade element and the edge of the roof opening, through which blinding solar radiation can still pass, can prove to be disturbing. It is therefore desirable for the front end of the sunshade element, in its closed position, to completely cover the front part of the roof opening to the interior space.
In recent years, use has increasingly been made of sunshade assemblies in which the sunshade element is moved by a motor as opposed to being moved manually. Here, tolerances which add up in the assembly can lead to an end setting of the front end of the sunshade element varying within a tolerance path. Such tolerances arise for example from the movement of the force-transmitting drive element which moves the sunshade element, and which is generally a cable guided to be resistant to tension and rigid in compression. Further tolerances arise, when using a roller blind as a sunshade element, during the winding and unwinding of the roller blind, or else from structural tolerances.
To compensate for these tolerances, a trim panel has hitherto been attached to the front end of the roof opening. This trim panel covers the front end of the sunshade element in its closed position in order to ensure that there is not an exposed gap. The disadvantage of this solution is that the clear width of the roof opening is reduced, which gives the vehicle occupants the impression that the roof opening is smaller.
Such a known solution is shown in FIG. 1, in which a front end of a sunshade element 1, in its closed position, moves beyond an upper end of a roof lining 2, and a gap formed between the roof lining 2 and a roof frame 3 is covered by a trim panel 4.
It is an object of the invention to provide a sliding roof sunshade assembly for a vehicle, in which substantially the entire clear width of the roof opening is opened up in the open state of the sunshade element.